697 research outputs found
Numerical Evidence for Divergent Burnett Coefficients
In previous papers [Phys. Rev. A {\bf 41}, 4501 (1990), Phys. Rev. E {\bf
18}, 3178 (1993)], simple equilibrium expressions were obtained for nonlinear
Burnett coefficients. A preliminary calculation of a 32 particle Lennard-Jones
fluid was presented in the previous paper. Now, sufficient resources have
become available to address the question of whether nonlinear Burnett
coefficients are finite for soft spheres. The hard sphere case is known to have
infinite nonlinear Burnett coefficients (ie a nonanalytic constitutive
relation) from mode coupling theory. This paper reports a molecular dynamics
caclulation of the third order nonlinear Burnett coefficient of a Lennard-Jones
fluid undergoing colour flow, which indicates that this term is diverges in the
thermodynamic limit.Comment: 12 pages, 9 figure
Speckle reduction of endovascular optical coherence tomography using a generalized divergence measure
published_or_final_versio
Factors Affecting Sperm Motility Of Tetraploid Pacific Oysters
Factors such as osmotic pressure, extender solution, addition of caffeine, and pH have been shown to affect sperm motility in aquatic species. We evaluated the effects of 18 osmotic pressures, two extender solutions, seven caffeine concentrations, and a pH range of 3 to 14 on motility of sperm from tetraploid Pacific oysters, Crassostrea gigas. Motility was highest at 1000 mOsmol/kg (mean +/- SD: 83 +/- 14%). Calcium-free Hanks\u27 balanced salt solution yielded significantly higher sperm motility than did artificial seawater. Sperm motility increased with caffeine concentrations to 20 mM (81 +/- 12%) and decreased when concentrations were higher than 50 mM (55 +/- 20%). Highest motility was obtained at a pH range of from 4 to 12; values outside this range yielded no motility. Addition of 10 mM caffeine to the different pH treatments also enhanced motility significantly. Overall, calcium-free Hanks\u27 balanced salt solution at 1,000 mOsmol/kg, the addition of 10 mM caffeine, and a pH of around 10 could be used to enhance sperm motility of tetraploid Pacific oysters. Our findings would assist the use of motility assays to evaluate the effectiveness of various refrigeration or cryopreservation procedures, especially outside of the peak spawning season, when sperm motility can be low and variable
Solar system constraints on the Dvali-Gabadadze-Porrati braneworld theory of gravity
A number of proposals have been put forward to account for the observed
accelerating expansion of the Universe through modifications of gravity. One
specific scenario, Dvali-Gabadadze-Porrati (DGP) gravity, gives rise to a
potentially observable anomaly in the solar system: all planets would exhibit a
common anomalous precession, dw/dt, in excess of the prediction of General
Relativity. We have used the Planetary Ephemeris Program (PEP) along with
planetary radar and radio tracking data to set a constraint of |dw/dt| < 0.02
arcseconds per century on the presence of any such common precession. This
sensitivity falls short of that needed to detect the estimated universal
precession of |dw/dt| = 5e-4 arcseconds per century expected in the DGP
scenario. We discuss the fact that ranging data between objects that orbit in a
common plane cannot constrain the DGP scenario. It is only through the relative
inclinations of the planetary orbital planes that solar system ranging data
have sensitivity to the DGP-like effect of universal precession. In addition,
we illustrate the importance of performing a numerical evaluation of the
sensitivity of the data set and model to any perturbative precession.Comment: 9 pages, 2 figures, accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.
Pioneer 10 Doppler data analysis: disentangling periodic and secular anomalies
This paper reports the results of an analysis of the Doppler tracking data of
Pioneer probes which did show an anomalous behaviour. A software has been
developed for the sake of performing a data analysis as independent as possible
from that of J. Anderson et al. \citep{anderson}, using the same data set. A
first output of this new analysis is a confirmation of the existence of a
secular anomaly with an amplitude about 0.8 nms compatible with that
reported by Anderson et al. A second output is the study of periodic variations
of the anomaly, which we characterize as functions of the azimuthal angle
defined by the directions Sun-Earth Antenna and Sun-Pioneer. An
improved fit is obtained with periodic variations written as the sum of a
secular acceleration and two sinusoids of the angles and .
The tests which have been performed for assessing the robustness of these
results are presented.Comment: 13 pages, 6 figures, minor amendment
TEMPO2, a new pulsar timing package. I: Overview
Contemporary pulsar timing experiments have reached a sensitivity level where
systematic errors introduced by existing analysis procedures are limiting the
achievable science. We have developed tempo2, a new pulsar timing package that
contains propagation and other relevant effects implemented at the 1ns level of
precision (a factor of ~100 more precise than previously obtainable). In
contrast with earlier timing packages, tempo2 is compliant with the general
relativistic framework of the IAU 1991 and 2000 resolutions and hence uses the
International Celestial Reference System, Barycentric Coordinate Time and
up-to-date precession, nutation and polar motion models. Tempo2 provides a
generic and extensible set of tools to aid in the analysis and visualisation of
pulsar timing data. We provide an overview of the timing model, its accuracy
and differences relative to earlier work. We also present a new scheme for
predictive use of the timing model that removes existing processing artifacts
by properly modelling the frequency dependence of pulse phase.Comment: Accepted by MNRA
Can the Pioneer anomaly be of gravitational origin? A phenomenological answer
In order to satisfy the equivalence principle, any non-conventional mechanism
proposed to gravitationally explain the Pioneer anomaly, in the form in which
it is presently known from the so-far analyzed Pioneer 10/11 data, cannot leave
out of consideration its impact on the motion of the planets of the Solar
System as well, especially those orbiting in the regions in which the anomalous
behavior of the Pioneer probes manifested itself. In this paper we, first,
discuss the residuals of the right ascension \alpha and declination \delta of
Uranus, Neptune and Pluto obtained by processing various data sets with
different, well established dynamical theories (JPL DE, IAA EPM, VSOP). Second,
we use the latest determinations of the perihelion secular advances of some
planets in order to put on the test two gravitational mechanisms recently
proposed to accommodate the Pioneer anomaly based on two models of modified
gravity. Finally, we adopt the ranging data to Voyager 2 when it encountered
Uranus and Neptune to perform a further, independent test of the hypothesis
that a Pioneer-like acceleration can also affect the motion of the outer
planets of the Solar System. The obtained answers are negative.Comment: Latex2e, 26 pages, 6 tables, 2 figure, 47 references. It is the
merging of gr-qc/0608127, gr-qc/0608068, gr-qc/0608101 and gr-qc/0611081.
Final version to appear in Foundations of Physic
Pulsar Timing with the Parkes Radio Telescope for the Fermi Mission
We report here on two years of timing of 168 pulsars using the Parkes radio
telescope. The vast majority of these pulsars have spin-down luminosities in
excess of 10^34 erg/s and are prime target candidates to be detected in
gamma-rays by the Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope. We provide the ephemerides
for the ten pulsars being timed at Parkes which have been detected by Fermi in
its first year of operation. These ephemerides, in conjunction with the
publicly available photon list, can be used to generate gamma-ray profiles from
the Fermi archive. We will make the ephemerides of any pulsars of interest
available to the community upon request. In addition to the timing ephemerides,
we present the parameters for 14 glitches which have occurred in 13 pulsars,
seven of which have no previously known glitch history. The Parkes timing
programme, in conjunction with Fermi observations, is expected to continue for
at least the next four years.Comment: Accepted for publication in PASA.12 page
X-ray observations of the compact central object in supernova remnant G347.3-0.5
We present Chandra, XMM-Newton and RXTE observations of 1WGA J1713.4-3949, a
compact source at the center of the galactic supernova remnant (SNR)
G347.3-0.5. The X-ray spectrum of the source is well-fitted by the sum of a
blackbody component with a temperature of about 0.4 keV plus a power law
component with photon index about 4. We found no pulsations down to 4% in the
0.01-0.16 Hz range and down to 25% in the 0.01-128 Hz range. This source
resembles other compact central objects (CCOs) in SNRs, and we suggest that
1WGA J1713.4-3949 is the associated neutron star for G347.3--0.5. We also
measured the properties of the adjacent radio pulsar PSR J1713-3945 with a 392
ms period and show that it is not associated with 1WGA J1713.4-3949 nor, most
probably, with SNR G347.3-0.5 as well.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ Letter
Parallax of PSR J1744-1134 and the Local Interstellar Medium
We present the annual trigonometric parallax of PSR J1744-1134 derived from
an analysis of pulse times of arrival. The measured parallax, pi = 2.8+/-0.3
mas ranks among the most precisely determined distances to any pulsar. The
parallax distance of 357+/-39 pc is over twice that derived from the dispersion
measure using the Taylor & Cordes model for the Galactic electron distribution.
The mean electron density in the path to the pulsar, n_e = (0.0088 +/- 0.0009)
cm^{-3}, is the lowest for any disk pulsar. We have compared the n_e for PSR
J1744-1134 with those for another 11 nearby pulsars with independent distance
estimates. We conclude that there is a striking asymmetry in the distribution
of electrons in the local interstellar medium. The electron column densities
for pulsars in the third Galactic quadrant are found to be systematically
higher than for those in the first. The former correlate with the position of
the well known local HI cavity in quadrant three. The excess electrons within
the cavity may be in the form of HII clouds marking a region of interaction
between the local hot bubble and a nearby superbubble.Comment: revised version accepted for publication in ApJ Letters; reanalysis
of uncertainty in parallax measure and changes to fig
- …